Chapter One Hundred and Seven: The Method to Restore the Soul Crystal

Zhao Nan quickly pulled his hand back, staring at the quest panel with a strange expression, his brows furrowed.

As time passed, the mutant elite monsters in the plaza were completely wiped out. When the final one fell, the entire plaza suddenly lit up with a beam of light.

"Skills aren't working!"

"Has this place... actually become a safe zone?"

"Could it be that Listening Wind City has truly been restored?!"

"No, the safe zone is limited only to this area! Once you step out of the plaza, you can still use skills!"

"What? Does this mean that after so many of us died, all our efforts were in vain?"

Facing the increasingly heated discussions among the crowd, Zhao Nan turned to Lin Yu and the others, saying, "Let’s head back to rest for now. Clearing the monsters here is only the first step; we still need to restore the Soul Crystal to truly bring Listening Wind City back."

"What is the method?" Lin Yu asked anxiously.

Zhao Nan remained silent for a moment, then let out a breath and said, "Now, all monsters within the Listening Wind City map have a chance to drop an item called a 'Soul Fragment.' We need to collect 9999 of them to restore the radiance of the Soul Crystal."

"Just that?" Lin Yu frowned, then relaxed, joyfully exclaiming, "Is it just from ordinary monsters? That’s simple enough. Regardless of how low the drop rate is, if we gather everyone together, we will eventually collect them all!"

"Indeed! If it’s just ordinary monsters, this is much easier than dealing with the monsters in the plaza. I believe not many people will refuse to participate this time!" Fu Yun also laughed heartily.

"Then we shall go and make the arrangements... and notify the other safe zones as well," Huang Kun and the other two added.

Although Listening Wind City did not recover immediately after the mutant king was defeated, this condition was merely a matter of time.

"No rush. Everyone has worked hard today. Go back and get some rest first," Zhao Nan said calmly.

"That’s true... no need to rush. We must have a proper celebration tonight! Hahaha!"

"Agreed, let’s go!"

...

Fenina walked over, only to see Zhao Nan silently rubbing a lock of hair behind his ear, looking thoughtfully at the crowd on the road ahead who had just begun their various explanations.

"Just collecting fragments?" Fenina asked tentatively after a moment of silence.

Zhao Nan sighed. Watching the people busy packing up their belongings, he whispered, "It also requires... a soul sacrifice..."

"What is that?" Fenina’s expression darkened, as if she had realized something.

"Exactly what it sounds like," Zhao Nan said with a bitter smile. "We need to sacrifice a certain number of lives to activate the effect of the Soul Fragments."

"How can that be... doesn't that mean..." Fenina hurriedly lowered her voice, her expression grim. "Will anyone be willing?"

Zhao Nan shook his head; there was no need to say more. Who would be willing to give up their own life?

"Let’s head back too..." Zhao Nan took Fenina’s hand and said, "I hope that among all the people currently in Listening Wind City, there are enough cannibals... otherwise."

"This matter can only be carried out in secret."

Zhao Nan nodded. After accepting the quest to restore the Soul Crystal, he now possessed the ability to activate Soul Fragments by killing people.

He could kill a former cannibal without any psychological burden. But to demand the life of someone who was just struggling to survive and had done nothing heinous—that was something he could not yet bring himself to do.

But regardless, this matter would ultimately have to be completed by him.

...

The plaza monsters were completely wiped out, and the method to restore the Soul Crystal soon spread throughout all the safe zones.

In the name of those who had successfully killed the mutant king, Zhao Nan had Lin Yu and the others gather the leaders of all the safe zones once again to discuss the collection of Soul Fragments.

These fragments would drop from ordinary monsters, which posed a lower risk. It didn't take long for everyone to agree to participate. After all, everyone was happy to restore the environment of Listening Wind City in a relatively safe way.

The atmosphere at this gathering was much more harmonious than the last. No one mentioned the previous unpleasantness. Of course, what everyone was thinking in private remained unspoken; everything would wait until Listening Wind City was truly restored.

The next day, the massive monster-hunting operation began. Every remaining player in Listening Wind City, except for those unable to move due to injury, was out on the map.

Naturally, lower-level monsters were easier to kill, so the majority of players chose to venture out and grind in the areas close to Listening Wind City.

Three days later, the total count of Soul Fragments had barely broken 500. The goal of 9999 was still a long way off. Most of these fragments had been obtained from higher-level ordinary monsters. With no other choice, everyone had to shift their targets toward slightly higher-level monsters.

The hunting parties gradually became more scattered.

...

Somewhere outside Listening Wind City.

A team of six had just finished hunting a group of low-level monsters. The monster zone in front of them had been temporarily cleared. The six of them rested casually within a makeshift safe zone.

"It took us a full three hours, and not a single fragment dropped... I don't know when this drop rate will ever end," one of them sighed.

"Forget it. Even if it’s slow, it’s better than nothing changing," another whispered. "We won't have to live that kind of life anymore."

"Shh... keep it down!" one person’s expression shifted.

"Relax, everyone here is 'one of our own.' No one is going to report anyone, right?"

"Better to be careful... even if we’ve kept it secret, what if something goes wrong... and aren't you curious why we were all assigned to the same team?"

"Who knows? We usually act together anyway, so it’s not that strange, right?"

"Coward! Once Listening Wind City is restored, who would want to think about those things? Do you think I want to? If it weren't for having no other choice..."

"Alright! Stop arguing. Let's try to grind out one fragment. We can trade it to that person for some fresh meat..."

"Yeah, it’s been so long since I’ve had fresh meat..."

"Wait, there seems to be someone over there."

"Is that Boss Huang? Why is he alone?"

"Let’s go see; he seems to be waving at us."

"Strange, why is he here by himself?"

Though curious, they saw that the monsters in front of them had only partially respawned and weren't high-level threats—they could kill a batch in the blink of an eye—so the six of them walked out of the safe zone without a second thought.

But after the six had walked only ten meters out, the mud on the ground suddenly turned into a quagmire, and simultaneously, countless fireballs erupted in the sky.

Under the glare of the flames, the lives of the six began to vanish rapidly. Huang Kun could only watch quietly, saying nothing, letting the six scream and curse right in front of him.

When everything settled, only six corpses remained on the ground.

"This should be the last batch from my original safe zone..." Huang Kun whispered toward a large tree behind him.

"Next, hand the Lie Crystal to Zhong Jianming and have him prepare for action... Also, you and Qian Sen find a way to lure the leaders of the other safe zones out individually."

"I understand..."

Huang Kun sighed and left alone.

Not long after he left, Zhao Nan stepped out from behind the tree, looking at his quest panel.

"The life of one person can activate an average of 50 Soul Fragments... 9999 fragments means 200 people..."